Obama may tap strategic reserves

WASHINGTON -" As rising gasoline prices threaten to put a drag on the already sluggish economic recovery, the Obama administration is leaving open the possibility that it could draw from the nation’s emergency reserve in an attempt to reverse the trajectory."

With the Mideast on the verge of blowing up , Iran and Syria too be precise this would be the dumbest thing obama has done yet and that's saying something. What will we do for oil if he uses our reserves up for political purposes and suddenly the spigot from the Mideast runs dry?

Re: Obama may tap strategic reserves

WASHINGTON -" As rising gasoline prices threaten to put a drag on the already sluggish economic recovery, the Obama administration is leaving open the possibility that it could draw from the nation’s emergency reserve in an attempt to reverse the trajectory."

With the Mideast on the verge of blowing up , Iran and Syria too be precise this would be the dumbest thing obama has done yet and that's saying something. What will we do for oil if he uses our reserves up for political purposes and suddenly the spigot from the Mideast runs dry?

So it's Obama's fault that gas prices are so high, right? Now he proposes action that would have a far more immediate effect than opening up anything and everything to drilling, and he shouldn't do it?

What do you think the strategic reserves are for? It's so that our national security is not at the mercy of OPEC. High fuel prices potentially impact our national security, so bringing them down is part of what the strategic reserves are for.

Re: Obama may tap strategic reserves

Originally Posted by rocket88

So it's Obama's fault that gas prices are so high, right? Now he proposes action that would have a far more immediate effect than opening up anything and everything to drilling, and he shouldn't do it?

What do you think the strategic reserves are for? It's so that our national security is not at the mercy of OPEC. High fuel prices potentially impact our national security, so bringing them down is part of what the strategic reserves are for.

.The strategic reserves are for an emergency supply of oil if we were to suddenly not be able to get enough oil to fill our needs both domestically and militarily. You never answered my main question, what will we do for oil if it is suddenly cut off from the Mideast after obama uses our reserves to get reelected?

"Access to the reserve is determined by the conditions written into the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), primarily to counter a severe supply interruption. The maximum removal rate, by physical constraints, is 4.4 million barrels per day (700,000 m3/d). Oil could begin entering the marketplace 13 days after a presidential order. The Department of Energy says it has about 59 days of import protection in the SPR. This, combined with private sector inventory protection, is estimated to equal 115 days of imports.

The SPR was created following the 1973 energy crisis. The EPCA of December 22, 1975, made it policy for the U.S. to establish a reserve up to 1 billion barrels (159 million m³) of petroleum. A number of existing storage sites were acquired in 1977. Construction of the first surface facilities began in June 1977. On July 21, 1977, the first oil—approximately 412,000 barrels (65,500 m3) of Saudi Arabian light crude—was delivered to the SPR. Fill was suspended in FY 1995 to devote budget resources to refurbishing the SPR equipment and extending the life of the complex. The current SPR sites are expected to be usable until around 2025. Fill was resumed in 1999.

Obviously it is for supply interruption NOT to keep price of oil down too get reelected.

Re: Obama may tap strategic reserves

Originally Posted by sawyerloggingon

.The strategic reserves are for an emergency supply of oil if we were to suddenly not be able to get enough oil to fill our needs both domestically and militarily. You never answered my main question, what will we do for oil if it is suddenly cut off from the Mideast after obama uses our reserves to get reelected?

Estimates peg the amount in the reserve as being about enough for a little more than a month at our current usage rate. That goes pretty high in times of war, so that may be significantly less than that.

Basically, assuming any war lasts more than one month (which is pretty likely), it won't make much of a difference. If we go with your numbers and say 115 days...do you really think that it'll be over in 4 months? It is for a temporary interruption. VERY temporary. Things blow up in Iran and Syria, it won't supply us for as long as it would have to. There's no way we can drill fast enough to make a difference if it blows up soon. Even at that point, the government would have to nationalize oil production to keep the supply safe.

In other words, it doesn't matter. The SPR wouldn't save us in any significant conflict.

Re: Obama may tap strategic reserves

WASHINGTON -" As rising gasoline prices threaten to put a drag on the already sluggish economic recovery, the Obama administration is leaving open the possibility that it could draw from the nation’s emergency reserve in an attempt to reverse the trajectory."

With the Mideast on the verge of blowing up , Iran and Syria too be precise this would be the dumbest thing obama has done yet and that's saying something. What will we do for oil if he uses our reserves up for political purposes and suddenly the spigot from the Mideast runs dry?

This tactic has been used before. The pricing of the oil market is largely based on information, which leads to speculation based on risk models.

By leaving open this possibility, it lowers the perception of risk which hopefully in turn will lower price.

When Bush 41 did it the reason was the gulf war interrupted oil supplies so he was within the law.

When Bush 43 did it the reason was Hurricane Katrina had dramatically disrupted our oil supply so he was within the law.

When Clinton did it the reason was the same as now, politics. He was outside the law and if obama does it he too will be corrupting the purpose we have oil reserves and Incidentally when Clinton dit it the price of oil fell for about 5 minutes, it didn't work.

Re: Obama may tap strategic reserves

WASHINGTON -" As rising gasoline prices threaten to put a drag on the already sluggish economic recovery, the Obama administration is leaving open the possibility that it could draw from the nation’s emergency reserve in an attempt to reverse the trajectory."

With the Mideast on the verge of blowing up , Iran and Syria too be precise this would be the dumbest thing obama has done yet and that's saying something. What will we do for oil if he uses our reserves up for political purposes and suddenly the spigot from the Mideast runs dry?